The compact luxury sedan segment could be considered one of them, but through the sheer ubiquity of the top players – BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Audi A4 and more – perhaps buyers are hungry for something more… or maybe something British?

One of the most competitive markets today, the entry luxury sedan segment is damn nearly impossible to establish oneself in, but Jaguar makes a case for the XE.

(Joanna Tavares)

That’s what Jaguar is betting on with their all-new XE, a stylish and impressive (on paper, at least) newcomer to the lease-laden entry luxury sedan market. Luckily for the British brand, we’re all far enough removed from their last attempt at a contender: the Ford Mondeo-based X-Type… shudder.

I took the wheel of a generously-optioned XE 35t for a week and several hundred miles to find out if this pretty kitty has the appropriate allure to win over buyers so set in their ways or if the XE will go the way of compact Jags come before.

Design: 8.0 Rating

This handsome beast is not as bold as other sports sedans in the segment, but the all-around aesthetic of the Jaguar XE is sure to be a headturner for years to come.

(Joanna Tavares)

The XE’s looks can be summed up succinctly: it’s an undeniably handsome car, but it could have been released by almost any luxury brand in the last five years with similar results.

Don’t get me wrong, the clean, almost scientific lines, aggressive front fascia, tidy proportions, short overhangs and awesome 20-inch wheels create an all-around attractive aesthetic – and one that garnered a few turned heads and thumbs pointed skyward – but every time I locked the car and walked away, I couldn’t help but want a little bit more bravado from the snarling cat.

The rear end (minus the F-Type LED taillight tip-of-the-hat) looks like it could have been lifted from the Audi A5 coupe, and if you imagine a split down the middle of the gaping grille, a 3 Series starts to appear.

The interior of the XE is a little uninspiring, but it is sure to stand the test of time.

(Joanna Tavares)

Inside, the XE is similarly reserved, which is to say a bit boring as well. The entire cabin is laid out symmetrically and enclosed by a nifty arch that starts from the driver’s door, encircles the dashboard and ends on the opposite side. It gives the cabin a cockpit-like feel, something many designers claim to incorporate but few actually do.

A simple center console contains three rows of climate control switches below Jaguar’s dominating new 10.2-inch touchscreen and above, curiously placed engine start/stop and volume switches. Unless you opt for colorful inserts like red, blue or off-white in the seats, the cabin is a sea of black with tasteful white stitching and pale green lights at night.

Fit and finish is very near the top of the class, though, and while hard plastic along the transmission tunnel is off-putting in a $65,000 SUV like the F-Pace, it’s significantly more palatable in an entry luxury sedan.

Overall, while the XE’s design will offend precisely no one, it may not excite too many either, though there is something to be said for timelessness. Five or ten years down the road, this car will look just as handsome as it does now, perhaps unlike some of its bolder competitors like the Lexus IS and Infiniti Q50.

Comfort: 7.5 Rating

This Jag is comfortable for front-seat riders, but if more than two people cram into the backseat, things get a little too cozy really fast.

(Joanna Tavares)

Front seat passengers will find themselves perfectly cozy in the aft of the XE’s cabin, with supportive seats that can be had with heating and ventilation to keep your posterior at its optimal operating temperature year-round. Rear seat passengers are also treated to warmed buns with the optional climate package, but that’s about where the creature comforts end out back.

Headroom is extremely tight for anyone approaching six feet tall (I’m 5’10” and felt my hair brush the headliner on several occasions), and while the rear seats angle backwards and the cushions upwards to keep you from sprawling out, legroom gets tight when the front seats are in a comfortable position.

The XE is at its most accommodating with 2 passengers, four being the absolute maximum before things start to get seriously tight. But if you need more room, I’m sure Jaguar would be happy to offer you the larger XF instead.

Controls: 7.0 Rating

A symmetrical, logical design of the XE's interior is overshadowed by the fact that almost every control is relegated to the completely unintuitive touchscreen system.

(Joanna Tavares)

The good news is that the XE’s linear, symmetrical design makes for a sensible control layout on the center console, putting climate controls in two parallel lines with actual, physical buttons for everything (take note, Cadillac). With some practice, it all becomes easy to operate without a second look, and aside from the infuriating decision to put the volume knob away from the driver and an engine start/stop button in its place to preserve the F-Type taillight theme underneath the round button and knob, everything makes proper, logical, British sense.

The bad news is that all media, phone and settings are controlled through the touchscreen when you opt for the newer, larger unit, and trying to switch between media, phone, navigation and more while driving is a distracting and downright dangerous affair. The screen is just too big to get used to each function’s location on the screen quickly, and the result is a less-than-ergonomic experience.

Utility: 7.0 Rating

Tl;dr: We don't recommend the XE as your primary hauling hero.

(Joanna Tavares)

If you’re looking for handy storage cubbies in the XE, be prepared to be let down. The only spaces to keep your knick-knacks is in the cup holders, on a small rubber mat behind the shifter – which takes up an absurd amount of real estate for something that’s supposed to save space over a traditional shifter design – and in the door pockets. Other than that, you’re out of luck unless you want to dig through the glove compartment or center console bin for everything you own.

Cargo space, however, is more than adequate at 15.9 cubic feet in the trunk, a full 2.9 cubic feet more than a BMW 330i, but in application, it’s not quite as simple as just a numbers advantage. The XE’s trunk is surprisingly narrow, and as such can’t accommodate more than two carry-on suitcases side-to-side, making smart packing difficult for more than one or two people. You’ll fare better than with most competitors, but hauling hero this Jaguar is not.

Technology: 7.5 Rating

Jaguar's new 10.2-inch InControl Touch Pro touchscreen has pretty graphics and a fast processor, but it may be the most frustrating system to navigate.

(Joanna Tavares)

Here are the things I liked about Jaguar’s new 10.2-inch InControl Touch Pro touchscreen infotainment system: the graphics are pretty, it’s got a fast processor, and the Nokia Here-powered navigation is pretty to look at and intuitive – when it works.

That’s about where the compliments end, as the system gave me several fits over the course of a week. More than a few times, when I fired up the car, it would refuse to connect with my phone via Bluetooth even though none of the settings had changed. Additionally, when starting up the car, the system takes a few minutes to “warm up” acting glitchy and sluggish until it’s had ample time to prepare.

There are also some ergonomic annoyances like I mentioned earlier, including burying the settings in several touchscreen-only menus, and the inability to scroll through things like satellite radio channels in a list format without pressing a forward or back arrow several times or punching in the channel number directly.

While most of my qualms were with the touchscreen, the XE – like many entry luxury sedans – offers a full suite of convenience technology, but some features are only available as optional extras on top-tier trim levels, much like the F-Pace. In a segment where every brand is fighting for ground, Jaguar could have set themselves apart by offering more of its impressive number of technologies as standard.

Safety: Not Rated

Though it has yet to be rated by NHTSA and the IIHS, a suite of safety features including park assist, surround-view camera and 360-degree parking aid are all available on the Driver Assistance Package for an additional $3,200.

(Joanna Tavares)

As of the publishing of this review, the 2017 XE has not been tested by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) or the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). This alone bars me from assigning a safety score to the XE at this time, but the good news is that a plethora of driver-assistance and active safety technologies are available on the XE – if you’re willing to pay, of course.

Park assist, a surround-view camera, traffic sign recognition, adaptive cruise control and a 360-degree parking aid are only available as part of the $3,200 Driver Assistance Package, and blind spot monitoring, lane keep assist and other safety technologies are only available on upper trim levels. When some of these features are offered as standard on Jaguar’s price-leading competitors, it’s tough to surmise why they’ve been stingy with standard features.

Power and Performance: 8.8 Rating

The satisfying growl of this 3.0 liter supercharged beast is only undermined by the penalty in fuel economy.

(Joanna Tavares)

If you’ve never driven a supercharged car, it’s a lot like having a cheat code to make your engine more powerful when you need it most. The 3.0-liter supercharged V-6 in the XE 35t – why they decided to call it “35t” is beyond me, but I digress – is the same power plant found in the F-Pace 35t, but with the added bonus of a couple thousand pounds less to haul around.

The result is a riotous driving experience, with 340 horsepower and 332 lb.-ft. of torque whisking you down the road at an alarming rate of speed. Rear-wheel drive is the standard drivetrain, which my tester was equipped with, but all-wheel drive is also available for buyers in weather-prone areas.

The power takes a second to fully kick in, but the beauty of a supercharger is that it makes the engine put out more power than it would have normally as the revs climb, so it behaves more like a naturally aspirated engine on steroids. This is a seriously fast sedan, and one that would have gotten me in a lot more trouble on twisty backroads than I was prepared for if it wasn’t for an intuitive traction control system.

It sounds fantastic, too – if a bit muted – as the V-6 emits a satisfying growl and melodic wail as you hustle along to extra-legal speeds. This is as exciting an engine as you’ll find short of anything with an “M” or “AMG” badge, and though you’ll take a penalty on fuel economy – I averaged about 23 mpg over the course of my 70-mile test loop – it’s worth the extra cost… to me, at least.

Ride and Handling: 8.7 Rating

The Jaguar XE easily carves up curvy roads with all the stealth you'd expect of a cat.

(Joanna Tavares)

Arguably better than the powertrain, though, is the way the XE carves up a curvy road. Jaguar touted its all-new aluminum architecture that will underpin all of its new vehicles going forward, and the results are spectacular, maybe even good enough to best the long-dominant BMW 3 Series, though without driving the two back-to-back, it’s hard to say.

The chassis is incredibly stiff and well-mannered, and stays composed and flat through every corner, seemingly no matter how fast you enter it. An electronically-assisted steering rack handles (no pun intended) the car’s heft in the corners nicely, with good weight balance and excellent feedback. There were several times I forgot that this was a rear-wheel drive car solely for the amount of grip it manages to achieve, but then it would bring me back to reality with a slight rotation of the rear in an over-zealous cornering attempt.

Gone are the days of squishy, floaty Jaguar sedans – the XE’s ride quality could be described as stiffer than most, especially on 20-inch wheels – but when what comes after is this good, I’m hardly complaining.

Our Recommendation:

Overall, the Jaguar gets it right with the design of the XE, but the imminent death of the sports sedan segment could put a damper on sales.

(Joanna Tavares)

So, is the XE good enough right off the bat to steal sales from some of the most established models in the industry at a time when fewer and fewer people are buying sedans?

I think it is, but that may not matter, unfortunately. The fact of the matter is that carmakers, especially luxury manufacturers, are finding it harder and harder to sell models without an increased ride height, rear hatch, and all-wheel drive, and though the XE certainly deserves to be bought in droves, it may end up falling by the wayside. It’s the right car for Jaguar, but maybe at the wrong time.

But sports sedan death knell notwithstanding, the XE’s excellent combination of style, raucous driving manners and that priceless “new kid on the block” factor make for one heck of an entry luxury car, and one that should certainly be on your short list.